Penn State Stays Alive With 66-63 Win Against Minnesota

by Adam Bittner on Mar 6, 2011 7:16 PM EST in Basketball

The NCAA Tournament dream lives to die another day.

Penn State defeated Minnesota 66-63 on Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena in Minneapolis to even its conference record at 9-9 and give itself a chance to play its way into an at-large berth at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis starting Thursday.

Talor Battle stormed the Barn and led the Nittany Lions with 22 points, three assists and two rebounds. Jeff Brooks shook off a slow start to contribute 20 points and seven rebounds of his own and Tim Frazier posted a balanced day of seven points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Though Minnesota probably doesn't count as a key road win, it does make the glaring hole of Penn State's road record look a little smaller. It also ensures the Lions probably won't have to win out in Indianapolis to have a realistic shot at an at-large berth. In all likelihood, 18 wins, which would mean two in the tournament, will give the team a fighting chance come Selection Sunday. An appearance in the tournament final would probably put Penn State safely on the right side.

First up will be Indiana at 7:30 P.M. on Thursday. Until then...

The Good

Frazier came back from six turnovers against Ohio State on Tuesday to post a point guard's dream state line. He scored, he set up his teammates and he worked hard on the boards. He's not the gamebreaker Talor Battle is, but he's become just as important to Penn State's success. If he gets in done in Indianapolis, Penn State has a real shot.
Talor Battle and Jeff Brooks both hit clutch 3-pointers in the last two minutes. The Lions played well enough to win at both Ohio State and Purdue earlier this season, but they didn't make winning plays at crunch times. Penn State made the plays this time, and it was good to see it pay off.
Minnesota was 2-15 from beyond the arc. After the disaster against Ohio State and Jon Diebler, it was good to see things return to equilibrium when it really mattered.
Jermaine Marshall had six points off the bench. It wasn't much, but if Penn State had been getting that all season, it'd be safely in the Dance. Hopefully, Marshall can continue to contribute today's line and give his teammates a blow. They'll need a little rest to win two or possibly three games in three days.
Minnesota destroyed Penn State on the boards 17-5 in the first half, but Penn State came back to finish with a 27-25 edge. Nice show of resiliency.

The Bad

Um...I had to rub my eyes when I say that 17-5 gap first half rebounding gap. That'll get you buried against most teams. Penn State was very lucky the Gophers didn't make more shots, because if they had, the Lions could have been fighting the uphill battle it did at places like Illinois and Michigan State earlier this season.
The Lions turned the ball over 11 times. A few more than you'd like to see.
Beyond Marshall, the bench played eight minutes (all Billy Oliver's) and produced almost nothing. Depth will be a major, major issue in the Big Ten Tournament if more guys don't step up.

The Ugly

Penn State was called for two intentional fouls in the game, the second on Andrew Jones a complete phantom call. Luckily for Penn State, it didn't disrupt the momentum, but it could have had a major effect on the game, and it definitely didn't need to. Poor call by Ed Hightower's crew.
VCU defeated George Mason Sunday in the CAA tournament. The 26-6 Patriots now enter the at-large, pool, and with their 25 RPI, they look like a strong bet to go dancing. Fortunately for the bubble, they don't own a single top-50 according to Ken Pomeroy (that could change by morning) so there is some wiggle room there, but Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State can't afford many more of those upsets in conference title games.

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Comments

The ugly: Minnesota.

I guess that’s what happens when your depth at PG finds a seat on the strugglebus.

"Hi, I'm Bob Evil!"

by ReadingRambler on Mar 6, 2011 7:20 PM EST reply actions

The ugliest thing was Ralph Sampson III's attempt at a 3 late in the game

Minnesota had just gotten the ball after it went out off a PSU player after a missed FT and they were down two. Then Sampson spotted up for a 3 and missed EVERYTHING. That sucked the wind right out of the building and Minnesota had to start fouling after that miss.

Cory Geiger asks Paterno if talk about his future bothers him. "You bother me," Joe tells Geiger.

by Kyle_Martin on Mar 6, 2011 7:25 PM EST up reply actions

Ah, I enjoy this.

"Hi, I'm Bob Evil!"

by ReadingRambler on Mar 6, 2011 7:26 PM EST up reply actions

It was especially funny

Because they had been chanting airball at Battle all afternoon, and that miss was way way worse than either of Battle’s

Cory Geiger asks Paterno if talk about his future bothers him. "You bother me," Joe tells Geiger.

by Kyle_Martin on Mar 6, 2011 7:28 PM EST up reply actions

This is a good PSU weekend, lol

The biggest thing that sucks though is I’m probably going to be moving back to State College to work in the next few weeks after a 3 month hiatus, and all of these sports are pretty much over with.

by dawsonPSU10 on Mar 6, 2011 7:29 PM EST reply actions

moving back to State College NEVER sucks

I wouldn’t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed.

by psupride on Mar 7, 2011 1:59 PM EST up reply actions

Jones

It may be too much to ask for any improvment at this point, but he is so frustrating to watch. First, he is pretty much GUARANTEED to get two early fouls anymore, which means a long time on the bench in the first half. Second, he is so weak around the basket that he never seems to secure a loose rebound that he should be coming down with. That missed rebound on the FT in the last minute was high-schoolish. Finally, anytime they actually decide to include him in the offense, it normally ends in some sort of turnover and more importantly…not points. He is so deliberate with trying to make an offensive move that it slows everything down, and he often brings the ball down so it can get stripped.

I would be ecstatic if Marshall got some of his minutes and they played with a slightly smaller more athetic team.

by mundyscorner99 on Mar 6, 2011 7:50 PM EST reply actions

I swear he hasn’t progressed much since his sophomore year. We saw games that year that gave us hope he’d be a solid #2 for Battle.

I still think he’s a decent player, but he’s missing the big man gene that would make him good. He’s got size, but he’s timid. Doesn’t go up strong with it enough, and doesn’t rebound as well as he should IMO.

I thought DJ would be a better player as well with his ability to shoot the three. Brooks was the only guy out of the “other three” to make the jump PSU’ers were hoping.

by runngunn29 on Mar 6, 2011 8:17 PM EST up reply actions

agreed

No progress whatsoever. After the NIT run (particularly the ND game against Harangody), I thought he’d turn into a legit big man, average a double-double, and help alleviate the loss of Cornley. How wrong I was!

by OmarLittle on Mar 6, 2011 8:25 PM EST up reply actions

I would agree that Jones hasn’t progressed much since his sophomore year. I feel that DJ has made some great strides this year. I think he was going to be a role player, and I feel like he had filled that role well at times, although some games he seems to disappear.

Brooks to me is very interesting because he has REALLY improved over the past two years in his overall game. I even feel he could do better than what he is…sometimes he gets careless with the ball. Like today, he gets the ball thrown to him on a fast break and he steps out of bounds. And he had a double dribble on another possession. When he is focused I really like his game.

by mundyscorner99 on Mar 6, 2011 9:25 PM EST up reply actions